Blog

2nd Principle: Jesus’ Mission — Week of May 23, 2016

“Christ’s mission is our mission”! OK, so what was Jesus’ mission? Community of Christ has taken Jesus’ proclamation in Luke 4:18-19 as signaling his primary focus. Luke 4:18-19 records an event that occurred toward the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when he went to his hometown synagogue (“church”) and read from Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” (NLT)

Jesus proclaimed this passage as his own when he stated, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (The “blind” “captive” and “oppressed” can be taken as symbolic references to any human suffering.)
When we align ourselves with this mission principle of engaging in Christ’s mission of peace and justice (equality and fairness) in our communities, we deepen our relationships with God, ourselves, and our neighbors.
How does this apply to my congregation, you may ask? The Leading Mission Tip for this week is for congregations to find ways to engage with people in the neighborhood, build relationships with them, and learn how they can help with issues of suffering in their own community. “Walking the Neighborhood” is a good way to start, setting aside regular times for members simply to walk around the neighborhood, greet people they see, and begin to learn something about the people that live there.
*Leading Mission Tips are taken from Michigan Mission materials